Winning Means Planning: NaNoWriMo Strategy

 Part of a special month-long event featuring writing tips and NaNoWriMo strategies from guest writers and fellow NaNo participants.

NaNoWriMo Tip: Plan in Advance

By Sascha Illyvich

The daunting challenge of NaNoWriMo for many authors is just that, daunting. We're talking writing a full length, 50,000 word story in just under thirty days. So, how do we accomplish this with the least amount of resistance?

The biggest challenge to writing on a deadline involves planning. All of your plotting needs to be handled in advance well before you start writing. Having your entire plot points mapped out in advance will make the entire process much smoother. When writers who write by the seat of their pants complain about plot issues, often it's because they missed a step in the plotting/planning process.

Gather all of your character information up front, know exactly who they are and what makes them tick. Understand the genre you're writing in, know your market. Have all of your scene research done. Spend a month simply plotting and planning, gathering intel.

Honestly, it's easiest if you're using a traditional formula to write your stories. Let's be clear. ALL stories are formulaic. Structure of the story itself is just that, structured. This makes it easier to tell or write a story and learning those basics will only help strengthen your writing.

Back in June of 2013 I'd spent the entire month plotting, learning about and creating; all to craft characters for a romantic suspense I was planning on writing. I had an alternate goal though. I was aiming to write 65k in THREE DAYS! The ONLY way this could have been achieved would have been for me to be cogent and have done all of my research up front, as suggested by noted English writer Michael Moorcock. Now, to my credit I managed only ten thousand words in day one, but that's the most I've done and only because I spent the proper prep time.

Good luck!

By Sascha Illyvich:

His Reign
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Józsi wants to maintain a normal life away from the Opeth pack.  Moving from Hungary to Texas was a big change that he felt was necessary in order to avoid a prophecy that would ultimately make him Alpha of a dying pack, a responsibility he doesn’t want. 

Ilona and Lukina grew up loving Józsi even after he moved away.  Yet the current pack Alpha has gone rogue and begun kidnapping and abusing the younger wolves that remained without mates.  Ilona, becomes his next target and Józsi must return to once again deal with pack politics only to find that his heart misses what it could have.  Can Lukina and Ilona convince him to return to Hungary in order to rule the Opeth pack and mate or will Kiba destroy them in a fit of insanity? 

About the Author:
Proclaimed by the Publishing industry as the Bad Boy of Romance, Sascha started writing fourteen years ago.  His erotic romances have been listed under the Night Owl Romance and Road to Romance’s Recommended read list, and he's been nominated for a CAPA by The Romance Studio.  Recently, Torn to Pieces was a USA TODAY Recommended Read. 

Former host of The Unnamed Romance Show on Radio Dentata Sascha continues to write for Red Sage, Secret Cravings Publishing, Decadent Publishing, Sizzler Editions and Total E-bound.  Find him at http://saschaillyvichauthor.com Agency Representation provided by The Corvisiero Agency

Editor for Sizzler Editions Intoxication Erotic Romance line, Sascha is also part of the WriteSex Panel, a blog group defining erotica for writers in any genre! Find us at http://www.write-sex.com